6 Ways to Get Quality Business Sales Leads that Actually Convert

Are you looking for ways to gain more quality business sales leads that don’t waste your time?

In order for your business to grow, it needs plenty of genuinely interested potential customers to engage with. After all, without sales, you can only get so far.

However, as you’re probably aware, finding ways of reaching the right people can seem elusive. The internet is full of contradictory tips, advice and companies promising to get you more leads than you know what to do with. In fact, some of them can sound a bit too good to be true.

As an experienced digital marketer, I understand it can be frustrating when you don’t know where to turn for help. I feel it’s my responsibility to try and help guide businesses towards ways of getting better quality leads that actually convert, which is why I’ve decided to come up with this blog post.

Below, you’ll find six ways to help you gain more business sales leads for your business – whatever that might be. But first…

Why you shouldn’t buy business sales leads

If you’re thinking of buying your leads online, please stop right there. These are what’s known as cold leads, and when you call them up or try to engage with them, they won’t have a clue about who you are or what your business is offering.

This means that very few of them are likely to become customers, and you’ll be wasting your own time as well as theirs. As digital marketing agency Three Deep says, most of the leads you’ll get from these online business sales leads companies will, quite frankly, suck. Here’s why (from the same link):

“In most industries, online lead generation is a big business. If you start a company and prove that you are able to generate a steady stream of leads for a particular product or service, you will find a ready market willing to pay you for the leads you generate.”

This is pretty much the same across all industries, but the next point strikes a particular chord with me, and I think it will for you, too:

“Last year I was doing some research on home mortgage rates. I found a site that asked me to register to check rates in my area. Within the first 30 minutes of filling out that form I got calls from three mortgage companies. Three more called me within the first hour. I couldn’t believe I fell for my own lead generation tactics!“

So, what can you do instead? Well, here are six ways to get more business sales leads that actually convert:

1. Harness the power of emotion for better results

It’s been proven that websites with a stronger emotional impact produce a greater intent to buy, according to researchers as Missouri University. So, next time you write a web page, a blog post, or well, anything at all, try to tap into the emotions of your audience.

Here’s what entrepreneur and avid marketer Neil Patel has to say on the matter:

“When your content drives people to a state of happiness or joy, they will automatically respond to your offers, feel obliged to share your content, and will stop at nothing to tell others about you.”

So, when you’re next writing a piece of content, you could really benefit from including one of the following (via Kissmetrics):

Psychological triggers – focus on feelings, rather than product specifications, with emotional words such as ‘exciting’, ‘blissful’ or ‘delighted’

Memorable experiences – talk about life events that relate in some way to what you’re saying

Visual storytelling – include videos, photos and infographics where relevant

Social proof – what are other people saying about their experience with your product or service?

Give it a go – you might be surprised at the results!

2. Use LinkedIn to gain higher quality leads

In all my years publishing content, I’ve come to learn for myself that LinkedIn is one of the best places to post it. Not only was I getting plenty of great comments and feedback from contacts and groups I was posting in, I was also getting more quality leads as a result.

This is backed up by the fact that in 2014, over 80% of social media leads came from LinkedIn, making it THE top social media platform for online lead generation.

In order to get the best results from LinkedIn, my advice here is to post your most valuable, well-received content, ask questions and respond to people’s comments. Keep it engaging, and don’t be afraid to share the odd link or resource that doesn’t come directly from you.

There are plenty of ways you can maximise your marketing efforts to get more business sales leads. All it takes is a bit of time and understanding.

And okay – having a good sales team (or getting good at calls yourself) is part of it, too. For instance, did you know that 80% of sales are executed by just 8% of salespeople? That means there’s a lot of failed attempts to learn from.

The first and most important thing, however, is understanding how online leads actually work. Where are these people coming from? Knowing the process your online leads are making to get to your website in the first place will ensure you can help them more in future. In fact, it may involve a process very similar to the one I’ve talked about previously.

Next, I’d highly recommend using various tools and software to help you test, track and optimise your content and marketing efforts. There are so many tools out there you could be using, so there’s no excuse not to keep improving! They can tell you anything from who is opening and clicking on your emails, to how visitors are interacting with your website, and any roadblocks they are experiencing along the way.

All of this will help you become so much better at acquiring quality new business sales leads.

4. Get more leads out of social media

Really like the idea of using social media, but just feel like you’re not doing something right? There are plenty of great tips out there to help you!

For instance, did you know you should never send people to your home page from social? Always send them to the relevant page you’re promoting, and only promote content or pages that you know is already converting, so you can get the most out of your ad budget. Using trackable links will also be able to tell you more about where your leads are coming from.

Always remember that Twitter and Facebook are first and foremost social platforms. If all you do there is try to sell your product or service, you’re probably going to fall flat on your face. Instead, try and engage with your audience; ask questions and respond to comments.

5. Avoid the same old networking tactics

The problem with networking events is that they generally take up a lot of time, with often limited results. Well, that is, if you’re going there solely to get promising new business sales leads.

I find the problem lies within looking at networking in a very old-fashioned way. After all, we now sell online, so why should networking be limited to a conference centre or auditorium?

Instead, you should be seeing *everything* as a networking opportunity – from carefully building your contact list and interacting on LinkedIn, to hosting your own physical get-togethers or webinars, and reaching out to old contacts you just haven’t heard from in a while!

Don’t forget to put effort into your networking; take the time to read someone’s blog post, look at their bio, or bring up a shared memory from last time you spoke. Be as personal as possible, otherwise you’re just another face in the crowd.

It’s also important to think about the value you can offer someone, and do what you do for a higher purpose – not just to benefit your career. Networking with a passion can really make a difference to how others see you.

6. Save time on poor quality leads

Finally, in order to obtain better quality leads that are ready to buy, to have to really know your buyer personas. Your website should be built to talk about THEM – not just about your company, products or services.

A customer-centric website will not only help you increase leads and sales, it’ll also keep customers coming back for repeat business.

So, how do you develop your buyer personas with razor-sharp precision? Well, if you’re an established business, start with your best customers. Ask them what attracted them to your company. What did they like, and what put them off?

If you don’t have any customers yet (or if you want even more valuable feedback), take a look at online reviews relating to your products and services. What are people happy about? And more importantly, what are they complaining about the most? That will tell you what to avoid.

You can even use some of these gems (including language) on your landing pages for maximum impact! That way, the people you really want to get through to will feel as if you already know them.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading, and remember, it’s so important to put quality before quantity when acquiring new business sales leads for your company.

It’s definitely worth the time to ensure you’re getting plenty of genuine, quality leads that will actually convert into sales, so your business can grow. Otherwise, you’ll just be wasting your time.

If you have any questions about how to get more business sales leads, feel free to leave a comment below. I’m always happy to help!

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